Hearing the Shofar: More Difficult Than It Sounds

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.” Less pithy, but just as accurate is the saying that G-d created us with two ears and with one mouth because we are supposed to do twice as much listening as talking.

On Rosh Hashana, the only concrete mitzvah that is unique to the holiday entails using our ears. On both days of Rosh Hashanah this year the Baal Tokeiah will recite the following blessing on our behalf:

 “Blessed are you Hashem, Our G-d, king of the Universe who has sanctified us with His Commandments and commanded us Lishmo’ah Kol Shofar.

What does it mean “Lishmoah” the sound of the Shofar? It could mean to physically hear the shofar; that is to ensure that the sound waves emanating from the ram’s horn reach our ear drums. Halacha emphasizes the importance of physically hearing the shofar in a number of instances. For example, an individual who cannot hear is exempt from the mitzvah of shofar. The sound that enters our ears must be pure and unadulterated. For example, one cannot use a shofar whose mouth is covered in gold. This is because the gold will stifle the natural sound of the ram’s horn. Along the same lines, the Talmud expresses its concern towards a person hearing the shofar from someone who is down in a pit. The Rabbis warn that the listeners need to be careful that they are actually hearing the sound of the shofar, as opposed to the sound of any echo.

But Lishmoah also means to listen to the shofar, not just to hear. Hearing and listening are two very different procedures. We use our ears to hear, while listening also requires the use of our mental and emotional faculties. Perhaps the best example of this is found in the pasuk “Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad”. We need to not only hear, but understand and internalize the significance of G-d’s oneness.

Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, grandfather of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik put it this way: Hearing the shofar is the necessary physical pre-requisite (the maaseh mitzvah), while listening to the shofar gives that physical act meaning and elevates it to the status of a mitzvah (kiyum hamitzvah). It is therefore not surprising that the Rambam requires a special level of kavanah, intent, while fulfilling the obligation of shofar above and beyond that which is necessary for other mitzvot. Since hearing is a passive endeavor, the mitzvah of shofar requires greater sophistication and intention in order to give it “mitzvah credibility”, more so than that which is necessary for dynamic activities such as eating matzah or shaking a lulav.

Some people are hard of hearing; many more are hard of listening. Though most of us were born with the ability to hear with our ears, fewer people have refined that ability of hearing into the art of listening. Let us take advantage of Rosh Hashanah’s unique mitzvah of hearing the shofar to inspire us to develop our listening skills. In that merit, may Hashem hear and listen to our prayers this Rosh Hashanah and grant us all a year of blessings and peace.